I was at Costco today and overheard a conversation between a customer and a Costco guy about TV purchase. The customer asked how much time he has to return the TV if he doesn't like it. The Costco guy replied 1 month, and he said it is a new policy for TV only which just changed last month, to stop people from buying the TV and then return it later.
Well, many of us have warned again and again, those who abuse the nice Costco return policy will give them no choice but to change the policy. This change is more dramatic than the computer return because it is only one months vs 6 months. Those who have been using Costco's return policy as long term price guarantee, nice job!
[Edit] Somehow I believe either the employee is BS'ing the customer, or he misunderstood his manager and thought the policy has changed (but hasn't). Or maybe his manager misunderstood higher-up.
I doubt he was purposely BS'ing the customer, as the customer can easily verify with the cashier, member service, or the corporate.
[Edit 2/27/07] The employee of the original story might have jumped the gun when it wasn't official. However, now it is confirmed. Costco is changing return policy on consumer electronics to 90-days. In return, they double the manufacturer's warranty to 2 years.
Since Costco only accept AMEX, and most (if not all) AMEX card already doubles the warranty, I wonder if it means 3-year warranty now, or is it still 2 years.
By the way, all those who gave red, please change it to green.
Answer: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.
The golden goose so many abused has been killed.
******************** Return policy from Costco.com as of 2-26 12:30am PST (by rikkus256):
Returns or Exchanges Costco.com offers convenient returns at any one of our Costco warehouses worldwide. To expedite the return process, please have your order confirmation email with you.
Simply return your purchase at any one of our Costco warehouses worldwide for a refund (including shipping and handling). If you are unable to return your order at one of our warehouses, please email customerservice@costco.com or call our customer service center at 1-800-955-2292 for assistance. To expedite the processing of your return, please reference your order number.
We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund. ****************
Message edited by: sc0rpio on 2007-03-09 19:16:43 CST
Oh well...I don't see the change reflected on Costco.com at all, so I'm just going to assume that you overheard a prior Best Buy manager who hasn't yet realized that most retail outlets do not want their managers making up new policies as they see fit.
They still give a whole month! At least the people who just buy a big screen TV for Superbowl weekend and then return it will still be able to go on with business as usual.
FINALLY...this is good since so MANY people take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy. Where else takes a TV back after a month even when nothing is wrong with it. Good for Costco...
mom2boys said:FINALLY...this is good since so MANY people take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy. Where else takes a TV back after a month even when nothing is wrong with it. Good for Costco...
I agree. I am glad that CostCo is stepping up the enforcement against people that abuse their return policy. In their last company report they even said they had less than expected profits because of people returning high-end televisions after 3-4 months of use.
mom2boys said:FINALLY...this is good since so MANY people take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy. Where else takes a TV back after a month even when nothing is wrong with it. Good for Costco...
Doesn't Sam's Club (i.e. the other big national membership club store)?
Its an awful policy change (for people who aren't abusing it, who seem to be the only people posting here), whether or not its true. How does this step up enforcement against abusers? All it does it pull a useful benefit from both abusers and non-abusers.
I hope they try to engage their brains in methods to prevent getting screwed on the price matches, instead of simply pulling the plug for everyone.
arkleseizure said:Oh well...I don't see the change reflected on Costco.com at all, so I'm just going to assume that you overheard a prior Best Buy manager who hasn't yet realized that most retail outlets do not want their managers making up new policies as they see fit.I agree, the Costco employee in question was probably BSing the customer. There's no evidence this is a new policy.
arkleseizure said:mom2boys said:FINALLY...this is good since so MANY people take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy. Where else takes a TV back after a month even when nothing is wrong with it. Good for Costco...
Doesn't Sam's Club (i.e. the other big national membership club store)?
Its an awful policy change (for people who aren't abusing it, who seem to be the only people posting here), whether or not its true. How does this step up enforcement against abusers? All it does it pull a useful benefit from both abusers and non-abusers.
I hope they try to engage their brains in methods to prevent getting screwed on the price matches, instead of simply pulling the plug for everyone.
how do you not abuse the policy by taking back a TV after a month?
mom2boys said:FINALLY...this is good since so MANY people take advantage of Costco's liberal return policy. Where else takes a TV back after a month even when nothing is wrong with it. Good for Costco...
Agreed. Sucks to those that don't abuse, but there are soooo many that did abuse. I'm happy they are changing it.
LiquidSteel said:If Costco changes their return policy, maybe they should stop carrying Sceptre TV's which have given me nothing but trouble. Or maybe you should quit buying POS TVs and buy a quality brand instead.
bballcards said:LiquidSteel said:If Costco changes their return policy, maybe they should stop carrying Sceptre TV's which have given me nothing but trouble. Or maybe you should quit buying POS TVs and buy a quality brand instead. Touche Thanks BBCards. Well said
just gotta buy a TV with a year warranty would suck if the TV broke down on the 50 day and you paid $3000 on it. There should be no way in hell that Costco should take back a TV more than 1 year unless they sell a warranty package for $300 for 2-3 years. I wouldn't mind paying a little extra fee if I have the assurance that my tv will be operating for that long.
bballcards said:LiquidSteel said:If Costco changes their return policy, maybe they should stop carrying Sceptre TV's which have given me nothing but trouble. Or maybe you should quit buying POS TVs and buy a quality brand instead.
Isn't that the whole point of Costco? I can buy a no-name brand TV, without fear of it breaking, because I can return it later down the road. Of course, I will no longer take risks on these products anymore.
Costco has some of the most interesting branded items/electronics out there.
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